Apprentice Certificate: Funeral Director and/or Embalmer
A valid license from the Board of Funeral Service is required to practice funeral service in the state of South Carolina.
Check the Status of Your Application
South Carolina Code § 8-29-10(A) requires the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (SCLLR) to verify the lawful presence in the United States of any alien who has applied for state or local public “benefits,” as defined in 8 USC Section 1621. See S.C. Code Ann. § 8-29-10(A).
Under 8 USC Section 1621, an alien is not eligible for any State or local public benefit unless the alien is (1) a qualified alien as defined in Section 1641, (2) a nonimmigrant under the Immigration and Nationality Act, or (3) an alien who is paroled into the United States under 8 USC § 1882(d)(5) for less than one year. See 8 USC § 1621(a). Under Section 1621 further defines “state or local public benefit” to include “any grant, contract, loan, professional license, or commercial license provided by an agency of a State or local government or by appropriated funds of a State or local government.” 8 USC § 1621(c)(1)(A).
The Agency reviews applicants eligibility utilizing the federal Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlement (SAVE) program for eligibility of non-citizens seeking professional or occupational licensure. Applicants with non- “qualified alien” status are not eligible for licensure under state and federal law.
Additionally, in accordance with S.C. Code of Laws Section 8-29-10 and a SC Attorney General Opinion dated March 3, 2014, DACA status recipients are not able to receive a professional license in South Carolina.
Step 1: Print all required documentation. Please note some of the required documentation must be notarized
Step 2: After completion of all required documents, visit the Online Portal to begin application process. Upload all completed/notarized required documents in the online application portal. Please note: Payment must be submitted at the end of the online application in order to be submitted.
Registered apprenticeships are complete when all of the following requirements are met:
- Submit a complete application and payment of registration.
- Maintain full-time employment (minimum of 35 hours a week). Part-time work will not be accepted.
- Apprenticeship program must last a total of 24 months under the direct supervision of a designated SC licensees approved by the Board. Apprenticeships will not be marked as complete if less than the 24 months is attained.
- Timely submission of all quarterly reports showing completion of assisting in at least 50 cases. To receive credit for a full quarter, the apprentice must report activity for each month.
- Submit the Apprenticeship Program Completion Form.
Supervision
An apprentice must be under the direct supervision* of the designated supervising licensee when assisting with embalming or funeral directing services.
If an apprentice separates from the designated supervising licensee, the apprentice shall submit directly to the Board office via Document Submission in the Licensee Portal, an Quarterly Report reflecting the hours completed during that incomplete quarter.
To change supervisors, an apprentice must submit an updated Apprenticeship Supervision Attestation via Document Submission and receive approval from the Board prior to program resuming. The Affidavit of Service from the prior supervising licensee must be received before approval can be granted for the program to resume under the new supervisor.
Faxed forms will not be accepted. Please review the Submission Instructions.
Supervision is defined by S.C. Regulation 57-01(A) as protective oversight, including review, timely quality control, and inspection to assist the supervisee in preparing for practice and strengthening the skills of the supervisee. When the apprentice is assisting with funeral directing activities or embalming activities, the supervisor must be present on the premises and readily available.
Apprentices are responsible for timely submission of their Quarterly Reports. Reports are to be submitted via Document Submission in the Licensee Portal at the end of each quarter: March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31. Reports must be submitted no later than 30 days after the quarter’s end (April 30, July 30, October 30, and January 30). Reports not received on time will not be accepted as credit towards completion of apprenticeship. Faxed forms will not be accepted. Please review the Document Submission Instructions
Within the 24 months, apprentices must complete 50 cases of embalming and/or funeral directing under
the supervision
of the designated licensed embalmer or funeral director. Of the 50 cases, 25 must include all indicated
Board
specific tasks (bolded). The Apprentice must keep a record of the names of the deceased and the work
done in each
case. To receive credit for a full quarter, the apprentice must report activity for each
month.
List the name of the deceased, date on which the activities were first engaged, and the type of activity
by
letter
|
Funeral Directing |
Embalming |
|
A. Arranging with family and clergy |
M. Bathing and creaming face |
|
B. Preparing obituaries |
N. Posing features |
|
C. Arranging funeral procession |
O. Mixing fluids |
|
D. Arranging for transportation of decedent, to include obtaining the proper documentation |
P. Raising vessels |
|
E. Checking and arranging flowers |
Q. Injecting fluids |
|
F. Selling of funeral service, to include preparing funeral service purchase agreement and presenting general price list to family |
R. Hypodermic treatments |
|
G. Conducting funeral service |
S. Preparing of autopsied body |
|
H. Preparing death certificate |
T. Suturing incisions |
|
I. Preparing correspondence and maintaining bookkeeping |
U. Trocar cavity treatment |
|
J. Receiving visitors |
V. Applying cosmetics |
|
K. Observing sale and coordination of pre-need |
W. Restorative art procedures |
|
L. Arranging for cremation, to include acquiring appropriate documentation, verifying cremation authorization, and coordinating efforts with coroner’s office and crematory. |
X. Dressing and casketing of decedent |
Following the completion of the required 24 months of supervised experience and submission of all quarterly reports documenting case completion, apprentices are to submit the Apprentice Program Completion Form via Document Submission in the Licensee Portal. Submission of the form will initiate a full review of the program to ensure full compliance to program requirements. The Board office may deny the completion if all program requirements have not been met. If all requirements have been met, the Board office will send an acknowledgement of program completion to the apprentice and supervising licensee.
Faxed forms will not be accepted. Please review the Document Submission Instructions
Individuals who have completed the apprenticeship program may then apply to the Board for licensure. If an apprentice does not become licensed as a funeral director and/or embalmer withing 5 years of the apprentice program completion date, the Board may require the individual to complete all or part of the apprenticeship program.
Apprentice Certificate holders are not required to attain continuing education.
Apprenticeship Certificates are initially valid for twenty-four months (two years).
If an apprentice does not complete his/her required months and cases in that twenty-four months, that apprentice may extend the certificate for one year at a time.
Apprentices cannot extend more than three times.
Apprenticeship Extension Applications can be submitted via Document Submission.
Apprentices may use the Licensee Portal complete the following:
- Update Contact Information: email, mailing address, etc.
- Print a copy of Certificate
- Request a Certificate Verification record
- Access Document Submission to submit additional forms or documents – Submission Instructions